Ash Wednesday Confession

Extending Hope #4

It is Ash Wednesday and I hope you will have the opportunity to meet with other followers of Jesus to commit to supporting each other on your journey of repentance and transformation through Lent. I hope you will receive blessing and encouragement from your parish priest.

If you are unable to get to church today, you might like to make your own ash to symbolise your commitment to turning, returning and transformation:

Take a piece of paper and write or draw on it some words or images to represent things you want to leave behind in Lent, and things you want want the church and world to leave behind.

Now - only if you can do this safely (maybe in your kitchen sink) - burn the paper and keep the ash.

Pray as you set the ashes aside for this special purpose:

God our Creator, you know how we are formed,
And have compassion for the weaknesses of our nature;
God our Redeemer, you shared our mortal life,
And have felt with us the power of temptation;
God our Sanctifier, you search our hearts, 
And fan the flame of our faltering faith:
Take these ashes and make them signs for us 
Of our turning from sin and returning to you. 
As we receive them as a sign on our bodies, 
May our hearts be cleansed, and our spirits be renewed. 

Blessed be God for ever. Amen. 
 

Then, when the ash has cooled, dip your thumb in it and draw a cross with it on your forehead, saying any of these words:

·      I was formed from dust, and to dust I will return.

·      I repent and believe the gospel.

·      I take up my cross and follow Christ.

·      I turn from sin, return to Christ and seek renewal from the Holy Spirit.

It is best to do this in community, where you can receive support and accountability, but if you need to do it on your own, I hope it will still give you strength and courage. Perhaps you can write a comment, below, so you can feel that you are part of the community with me and other subscribers.

The prayers of confession I will be giving you through Lent challenge our tendency to focus on the individual sins of individual people. Since nobody sins in isolation – we all influence and are influenced by the systems of which we are part – we bring our communities with us (in our hearts and minds) as we turn and return to God.

In one of my many favourite Bible chapters, Isaiah 6, Isaiah confesses: “I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips”. The deceitfulness of the individual and that of the community are intertwined.

The form of the prayers of confession is a repetition of the Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy) – once for the world, once for the church and once for the individual. I need to change. The church needs to change. The world needs to change. I can’t make any of that happen, so I ask our merciful God to bring transformation at every level.

So, let’s pray!

Wherever there is war and hatred, violence and revenge,
Lord, have mercy.
Wherever human greed neglects and exploits those who are vulnerable,
Christ, have mercy.
Wherever your creation is harmed by thoughtlessness and wilful ignorance,
Lord, have mercy.

Where your people dishonour you through rivalry and schism,
Lord, have mercy.
Where the gospel of grace is used to bolster human pride,
Christ, have mercy.
Where precious, hurting people are condemned instead of loved,
Lord, have mercy.

When we take the path that’s easy instead of the one that is just,
Lord, have mercy.
When we lie or tell half-truths to justify ourselves,
Christ, have mercy.
When the suffering in our world ceases to break our hearts,
Lord, have mercy.

In your mercy, turn us from the path of destruction,
And return us to the path of life. Amen.

A Blessing for Ash Wednesday

The God of truth and grace grant you:
Eyes to see the cost of human greed,
Hearts that break for victims of injustice,
Ears that hear God’s call to repentance and reconciliation,
Hands that do the work of restoration
And feet that bring you back, again and again, to 
The blessing of God most gracious
Creator, redeemer, and sanctifier,
To sustain you, heal you, and renew you 
Now and always. Amen.

With love from Rev Margaret